MEDFORD, Ore. — The Medford Police Department says no matter the incident or graphic nature, if it happens in public view, photos and videos will typically end up on Facebook or Twitter almost instantly.

Police say these posts can sometimes help the investigation because the documentation can let officers get a better idea of what happened.This also helps officers know who to contact to find potential witnesses.

However, police say in some situations, posting can give away information that could put officers or bystanders in danger.

“A situation where somebody has died, or lost their life, we don’t want that going out on social media because those are sensitive things, there’s loved ones involved, and we need to handle those very sensitively, and just posting them online is probably not the best thing to do,” said Lt. Mike Budreau.

Officers also say if you do happen to get a photo or video of a crime scene, they ask that you share the content with the department directly.